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Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2026 No. 65

Social Security

The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026

Made

27th March 2026

Coming into operation

30th April 2026

The Department for Communities makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 5(1)(q) and (5) and 165(1), (4) and (5) of the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(1) and now vested in it(2) and sections 15(1) and 60(2) of the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016(3).

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 and come into operation on 30th April 2026.

Amendment to the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations

1. —(1) The Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016(4) are amended in accordance with paragraph (2).

(2) In Schedule 5 (deductions from benefit and direct payment to third parties)—

(a) in paragraph 3(2), omit head (f);

(b) in paragraph 5(2)—

(i) before head (a) insert—

“ (za) Schedule 6 (deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care) to these Regulations; ”;

(ii) omit heads (f) and (g);

(c) In paragraph 5(4) for “housing costs” substitute “deductions under Schedule 6 (deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care) to these regulations”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Communities on 27th March 2026

(L.S.)

Cherrie Arnold

A senior officer of the

Department for Communities

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend Schedule 5 (deductions from benefits and direct payment to third parties) to the Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment, Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance (Claims and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R 2016 No. 220) (“ the 2016 Regulations ”).

Regulation 2 amends Schedule 5 to the 2016 Regulations to permanently move “deductions from benefit in respect of child support maintenance and payment to persons with care”, in the order of priority under which the Department makes deductions from Universal Credit. The amendment has the effect that deductions for child maintenance have priority over the other deductions listed in paragraph 5(2).

Regulation 2 also amends paragraph 3(2) and paragraph 5(2) of Schedule 5 to the 2016 Regulations to remove cross references to paragraph 11 (payments in place of payments of child support maintenance) of that schedule. These references should have been omitted by virtue of the Child Support (Miscellaneous Amendments No.4) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 (S.R. 2019 No.222) when paragraph 11 was omitted. Paragraph 5(2)(g) is omitted in consequence of regulation 2(2)(b)(i).

These Regulations make in relation to Northern Ireland provision corresponding to provision contained in Regulations made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to Great Britain and accordingly, by virtue of section 149(3) of, and paragraph 10 of Schedule 5 to, the Social Security Administration (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 (c. 8), are not subject to the requirement of section 149(2) of that Act for prior reference to the Social Security Advisory Committee.

A full impact assessment has not been produced for these Regulations as no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen.

(1) 1992 c.8 (N.I.) section 5(5) was inserted by Article 3(1) of the Housing Benefit (Payment to Third Parties) (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/2597 (N.I. 20)) and was amended by paragraph 5(b) of Schedule 2 to the Welfare Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/2006 (N.I. 1)); section 165(1) was amended by paragraph 49(2) of Schedule 3 to the Social Security Contributions (Transfer of Functions etc) (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/671) and section 18(5) of the National Insurance Contributions Act 2014 (c.7.)

(2) See Article 8(b) of S.R.1999 No. 481 and section 1(7) of the Departments Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (c. 5 (N.I.))

(3) 2016 c. 21 (N.I.), as amended by Article 2 of The Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (Relevant Benefits) Order (Northern Ireland) 2021 (S.R. 2021 No.203)

(4) S.R.2016 No. 220

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